Summer came around again, and Giovanni finally passed into the next class at the Pokemon Tech. I had Xan and Miyamoto tutor him again for the holidays. He had become quite good friends with them, and when he was home one of the first things he would ask was whether either of them were around. Xan had given him a Machop for his birthday, after nervously asking me first. People tended to be wary of Xan for he was a large muscular man who looked like he could crush rocks with his bare hands, so it amused me when he spoke to me in a nervous way. I could have put him in the security division, but despite his size at heart he didn’t have the stomach for some of their darker tasks. Besides, he was an excellent field agent, and I saw no reason to move him. I came home from a visit to one of our laboratories in the north of the country to find Giovanni in an exuberant mood.

"Mum, guess what?"

"What?"

"I caught a Pokemon, all by myself!" He held out a Pokeball, his dark eyes seeking approval from me.

"Well I can’t see through the Pokeball, Giovanni," I told him. He smiled bashfully at me, and threw the Pokeball to the ground. The beam of energy materialised itself into a Pokemon.

"Ratatta!" it shrieked. I bit my tongue to stop myself from shrieking too. I could not stand Rattatas. Raticates were even worse. Giovanni stood there expectantly.

"Ugh, what possessed you to catch a horrible, germ infested rat?" I asked, hiding my fear.

"It’s not got germs. I was in the forest with Xan and Miya, and we decided it would be good practise for me to try and catch it," Giovanni retorted. I spotted the Ratatta making its way towards me.

"Just call it back, please. I do not want to see that thing in the house again," I said. He called back the Ratatta just before it reached my feet.

"Aren’t you pleased?" he asked me, a little forlornly. I sighed, and managed a smile.

"Yes, I am. Though there are far better Pokemon out there in my opinion."

"Dad liked it."

"I’m not your father, am I?" I said. He shrugged and carefully placed the Pokeball back in his pocket. I shouldn’t complain really, for he should have at least six Pokemon by now, but he only has three; the Rattata, Krabby and Machop. I refuse to give him any despite his requests. He wanted to be a Pokemon trainer so he can get his Pokemon like trainers do. A couple of days later I was preparing to go to sleep. Eric was still reading one of his books.

"Will you stop doing that?" I mumbled crossly.

"Doing what?"

"Nudging my legs. I’m trying to get to sleep."

"I wasn’t doing anything." We left it at that until something definitely ran across my legs. My eyes suddenly shot open. I sat up and looked at Eric.

"What?" he asked.

"Something’s in the bed," I said. Before I could do anything else, I spotted something moving under the covers between Eric and myself.

"Ratatta!" The rat poked its head out from under the duvet. At the same time I screamed and tried to leap out of bed, but my legs got caught in the duvet and I found myself lying on the floor, tangled up in the covers. I looked for the Ratatta, and saw it was just centimetres from my face. I didn’t scream this time, but settled instead for jumping back onto the bed, as far back as I could.

"Don’t sit there laughing! Go and catch the horrible thing!" I shrieked at Eric, who was doubled up with laughter, tears streaming down his face.

"Stop laughing at me!" I demanded, which made him laugh even more. I shoved him roughly, which had no effect whatsoever, and steeled myself enough to carefully peer over the edge of the bed. No sign of the Ratatta, though it had to be in here somewhere.

Gradually I became aware of some more muffled giggling from behind the bedroom door. I pressed my lips together and scowled.

"Giovanni Sakaki, get yourself in here at once," I yelled. The door opened, and Giovanni slipped in, looking sheepish and mischievous all at the same time. His mouth was twisted in a way that showed he was trying not to laugh.

"I thought I told you I do not want to see that thing in the house," I fumed.

"Sorry," he said. The Ratatta scuttled over to him and he called it back.

"That wasn’t very nice of you to frighten your mother like that," Eric said, unable to keep his amusement of his voice.

"I was not scared by that Rattata!" I yelled, making it all the more obvious I was.

"Why did you scream then?" Giovanni asked, putting on an innocent look. I glared at him, which was normally enough to subdue him, but not this time.

"Your allowance is stopped!" I told him, but I could see that I was not going to get anywhere, so I climbed off the bed and tried to muster some dignity.

"I will see you both in the morning," I said, and flounced off to one of the spare rooms for the rest of the night.

The Ratatta seemed to disappear after that. I don’t know what happened to it, and didn’t care. Giovanni became more aloof over the next few months. Every question was met with a shrug or grunt, and he never did anything I asked him to unless I yelled at him or clipped him round the ear. So when I told him one day, not long before Christmas, not to go into the forest because the weather was going to be terrible, with snow and high winds predicted, I was not really surprised to come home to find he had disappeared.

"He just said he was going out somewhere," Eric said.

"Where?"

"I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention. I was reading a book," he admitted. I looked out at the almost dark sky outside. It had been snowing for a good three hours now.

"If anything has happened to him, it will be your fault," I said, pointing at him. He didn’t reply. I clenched my fists, then went over to the phone.

"Trey, my idiot of a son has disappeared. I think he’s in the forest somewhere. Find as many available people as you can and start a search."

"Yes ma’am," Trey replied. I put the phone down.

"Now I have to waste my resources looking for him," I said. Eric turned and began to walk out the room. "Where are you going?" I snapped.

"To help look for him," Eric replied shortly. By midnight there was still no sign of Giovanni. Eric returned along with some of the agents. He persuaded me to go to bed, but I couldn’t sleep. Instead I stood at the bedroom window, like I had done years ago when I had been pregnant with my son. I wondered where on earth he could have got to. It had not been a year since father died, and the thought of loosing my son so soon after him…he had to be all right, he was a tough boy in many ways. I liked to think I helped him become that. Standing here was pointless, I had to be doing something. I got myself dressed again and headed downstairs and out towards my office.

Morning came, and with it some good news. Miyamoto and Cal had found Giovanni huddled under a bush. Though somewhat cold, hungry and bedraggled, amazingly he seemed fine. For once I wasn’t angry, just hugely relieved. I couldn’t help but wrap him in a hug when I saw him. I think he realised how worried I had been, for he said he was sorry before anything else. Apparently he had gone out for the sake of it, spotted a stray Geodude and had gone after it, caught it, then realised he had got lost in the process. I rewarded Miyamoto and Cal generously, though for Miyamoto I think finding him was enough. She came to see him shortly afterwards to see how he was doing, then went off to Germany on yet another mission. I was glad Giovanni had her and Xan to look up to, as I know he did. I would like to think he looks up to me too, but I think he has been yelled at once too often for that. Still, he is at least trying to aspire to be something now, and I can once again place my faith in him. Because Giovanni is away at the Pokemon Tech for most of his time, it is more noticeable to me how he changes as he gets older. When he came home for the summer holidays that year, the first thing that struck me was how much he had grown. I can’t physically look down on him any more. Like most teenagers who have just gone through a growth spurt he lacked any spatial awareness, and for a while was clumsy and awkward. I was glad when the summer finished and he could go back to the tech for his final year, and do some destruction there. Speaking of destruction, one of my outposts got raided by the police. Indignant, I tried to get through to someone who could tell me why that had happened. Team Rocket’s bases were supposed to have been protected from such things. Agents, on the other hand, were responsible for themselves. If they got caught doing anything illegal, then they paid the price. They deserved being locked up for their incompetence. I wouldn’t get them bailed out unless I felt there were mitigating circumstances. Unfortunately, a side effect of this meant some of them became backstabbers when they were let out, and had to be eliminated. The same went for anyone who threatened me with blackmail or my life, whether they be internal or one of the pitiful rival gangs that occasionally spring up. Trey trained his people well. People on the outside may look at Team Rocket with fear or disdain, but there are far greater evils in the world then stealing a few Pokemon for profit, experimentation, or in the case of a rare few, my own pleasure. They should be grateful, for we help expand the whole world’s knowledge of the creatures even now as we did twenty years ago. Alas that what is on the outside is often how people judge things. I do not make that mistake, for I know better. An agent can look as intelligent and as smart as he likes, but that does not mean he is. He has to prove himself to me first. Running this business is tough, but I like it. I like the power it has given me. When I walk down a corridor people now practically stand to attention out of a combination of fear and respect, though I have never asked for such behaviour. I have heard it said that I can be unpredictable, though I do not believe this to be true. If someone does a good job, they are congratulated, if they do a bad one, they are punished. It is as simple as that. There are the usual jealous mutterings amongst the ranks that I treat people like Miyamoto with favouritism, but I remind anyone who questions me on matters like this that this young woman has done her job well. She has had many successful missions, and one good mission does not mean that you are automatically raised to her level. Not long after her twenty-first birthday, I had her in my office again.

"I heard you had quite a good time on your birthday," I said. She went red, and tried to hide a grin.

"Yes, I did," she replied.

"So, did you get what I asked for?" I asked her. She seemed to wince slightly, then opened up a Pokeball. A moment later a pink blobby thing was sat in her arms.

"Ditto!" It said. I looked at Miyamoto for an explanation.

"It’s a Ditto, ma’am. One of the newly discovered Pokemon that will be entered into the International Pokemon Catalogue in the summer."

"I wanted a Jynx," I replied shortly.

"I know, but I happened to come across this first. It’s quite a sweet little thing, isn’t it?"

"I don’t care what it looks like, Miyamoto. What can it do?"

"Well because it’s new it needs further research..." she began, then recognising the statement on my face, she stopped and began again. "What is known about this Pokemon is its ability to transform itself into anything it chooses. Watch." She placed the Ditto on my desk, and the Pokeball it came in next to it. She pointed to the Pokeball. "Ditto, transform into that," she said.

"Ditto!" It said, happily. It glowed, as if evolving, but instead it was busy reshaping itself. After a couple of seconds, I had two Pokeballs on my desk. Miyamoto picked them both up, shuffled them behind her back, and placed them back down again.

"Now ma’am, which one is Ditto?" she asked. I studied the Pokeballs hard. Visually I could not tell, so I picked them both up. They both felt the same too. I raised my arm and threw both the Pokeballs over Miyamoto’s shoulder so they slammed against the far wall.

"Ditto!" one of them squeaked.

"That one," I said dryly, pointing at the Pokeball that had made the noise. Miyamoto went to pick it up. It transformed back into its original form.

"You didn’t have to do that," she said, hugging the Ditto, which nestled against her. I just raised an eyebrow.

"This thing can turn into anything?" I said. Miyamoto nodded. She fished out one of her own Pokeballs, and placed the Ditto on the floor.

"Ditto, transform," she said. I stood up and peered over my desk. There were two Vulpix’s standing staring at each other. Again I could not tell the difference. One yapped, and they both started chasing each other round the office.

"Vulpix, return!" Miyamoto said hastily. She aimed for the wrong one. On the second attempt she got it right. She picked up the remaining one, and it turned back into Ditto again.

"Interesting," I said. "Not what I asked for, but it is a satisfactory alternative."

"I should think so," Miyamoto said. Anyone else who answered like that would have been reprimanded. Instead I clasped my hands together.

"Take it down to the labs so it can be studied. Then you can go back out there and get the Jynx I wanted."

"Yes ma’am," Miyamoto replied, returning the Ditto into the Pokeball.

"If you’re quick about it you may get a holiday this summer," I said.

"It’ll be strange not training Giovanni with Xan," she replied. "Hopefully he won’t have a problem passing his final exams."

"He had two of my best agents tutoring him, so he has no reason fail," I said, an underlying tone in my voice. Miyamoto nodded, then smiled brightly at me.

"Well, I’d better go now," she said.

"Time is money," I replied as she left.

She got me a Jynx eventually, as I knew she would. And Giovanni finally made it out of the Pokemon Technical Institute, as I knew he would. For the next couple of years I wanted him to work for me before going off to university. He looked at me doubtfully until I told him he’d be paid for it like everyone else. He would spend some time learning the ropes of what it would take to run Team Rocket. August this year was another boiling hot affair, much like the one in which Giovanni had been born. Tempers were short all round, meaning mine was on a knife-edge. The smallest thing made me snap, and people did their best to avoid me. As well as Giovanni’s birthday, August brought a visitor. A large fancy car drew up in a cloud of dust one Saturday.

"Aunt Isabella, it’s great to see you!"

"Stefan? What brings you here?"

"We’re sorry it’s a week late, but I’ve got some presents from mum and myself for Giovanni," Stefan replied, holding up a bag. His dark hair had grown long and was tied back in a ponytail. He wore his shirt open at the collar, and despite the warm weather, had a jacket slung over his shoulder. A real poser. I called for someone to bring us a drink as we sat back down at the table outside. Though it was evening, it was still quite warm outside.

"Giovanni’s not here at the moment," I said. "He’s gone to watch the finals of the Pokemon League with his father and a couple of friends. They should be back soon."

"Ah well. Mum said that he’d finally graduated from the Pokemon Tech?"

"Yes, he did. How’s your mother, anyway?"

"She’s fine. She wanted to come and see you herself, but she’s busy preparing to go on holiday. I was heading down this way myself, on the way to Seafoam Island, so I said I’d pop in for her."

"I see. You still live at home then?"

"No, not at all. I moved out a few months ago. It would have been sooner, but there were a few things to sort out, you know, with Kyle." He sighed. Kyle, just as I had long suspected, was only after money. He’d tried to steal money out of Minty’s account, and got pretty nasty about it too. Minty had rung up in floods of tears one night when it had all got too much and they had ended up with the police round. Kyle was in prison now. The whole affair had upset Stefan a lot too. I changed the subject.

"What are you doing at the moment?"

"Not a lot. I’m just enjoying myself this summer, after all you’re only twenty-one once. Maybe I’ll find something better to do later," he replied, casually. He’d never had life hard, never had to work for anything. He’d had a load of money dropped into his lap a couple of years ago that would be enough to last him for life providing he didn’t throw it away. Minty hadn’t helped, and neither had Kyle when he was around. The incident with Kyle I think had made him grow up a little. We chatted away for about another half an hour before he made his excuses and left. Well, he left the house. On the way out I noticed he had met Giovanni and Eric coming back from the Pokemon League. Miyamoto had gone with them, partly because Giovanni had invited her, partly because I wanted her to look out for any decent Pokemon. I watched them from a window. If it were possible for eyes to turn into little hearts, then they would have done with Stefan when he saw Miyamoto. He smiled a very charming smile at her when they were introduced, and kissed her hand. She smiled at him sweetly, but I don’t think she was interested for she made some excuse and headed off to one of the blocks of rooms for the night. Stefan talked to Giovanni and Eric for a few more minutes before he jumped into his car and was on his way again.

"Have you done something to your hair?"

"No."

"You have. Let me have a look," said Eric, taking hold of a lock of my hair. He held it up to the light, then sniffed it. He grinned at me.

"You’ve dyed it."

"So what?" I said, pulling the lock out of his grasp and smoothing it back into place.

"You didn’t have that many grey hairs," he said. I narrowed my eyes.

"Least I’m not going bald," I retorted. Eric just laughed.

"It’ll be a few years yet before I am," he said, touching his receding hairline. We were in grand old middle age. I would be forty-three on my next birthday, and like it or not I was beginning to show one of the first signs of getting old; grey hair. I blamed it partly on stress. They kind of crept in, one by one until I noticed my black hair was mottled with them, as if a spider had weaved its silk through it. Well I couldn’t have that, could I? So I had quietly nipped out and bought some hair dye. I thought no one would notice, though I should have known better with Eric. It inevitably happens to us all no matter what pills you take or what creams you use. I wondered if anyone would still take me seriously when I got to about sixty. But hopefully by then Giovanni would be almost ready to step into my place. Despite his reluctance as a child, now he was interested in Team Rocket, and accepted that he would one day lead it. He paid careful attention to everything that was shown to him. I let him go out on a couple of short missions - something which he had nagged me about often - with some of the agents so he could see what it was all about first hand. A few cold nights in a sleeping bag soon quelled most of that curiosity. And then there was the gym in Viridian City. It had been derelict for years and was due to be demolished and built over as part of an urban renewal plan of the city centre. To me it was an excellent opportunity to expand Team Rocket’s horizons again. What better way to spy on unsuspecting trainers and their Pokemon? So using a couple of my connections in high places, I bought the gym and began the long task of rebuilding it. It would be expensive, for the remains of the old gym had to be taken down, then the whole site redeveloped. The new gym would not be ready for at least another two years, for there were other features I was planning to put in. The only problem was that I seemed to be the only one who thought running a gym a good idea. Eric had laughed, and both Oliver and Trey failed to see my point of view. I realised that there was no way I could be its leader for I lacked the relevant skills. However, Giovanni was a different story. He had the qualifications and experience. I asked him if he would like to lead the gym, and his face lit up. Maybe he could take charge of that while I looked after the rest of Team Rocket. That way he would be out of my way, too. Perfect.

Chapter 5